by Daria White
“I’m sure. She didn’t come by this week, so I didn’t get to talk to her. Maybe in church, but with everything going on with this murder…” Luther handed Bianca her receipt.
“I’m still taken aback.” Bianca folded the small piece of paper and slipped it inside her wallet.
“Can’t trust people nowadays. Everybody’s got an agenda.”
Bianca’s eyes looked ahead, past the high ceilings and fluorescent lighting. She spotted Judy motioning to the guy wiping down her white Honda. Judy folded her arms over her chest as she waited.
“You all right, Bianca?” Luther asked.
“Sure. I just saw Judy.” She pointed ahead.
Luther looked in the same direction. “Yeah, she didn’t seem in a good mood today.”
“Really?”
Luther shook his head. “Woman drove in practically yelling at my workers. Claiming they didn’t do a good job. I know my staff. They aim to deliver every time.”
“Maybe she’s having an off day.”
“I’ll give her that, considering the death in the family, but I’ve never seen anyone that ticked off because of water spots.” He motioned for her to pull ahead. “I’ll see you later.”
“Want me to tell my mother you said hello?” She couldn’t help but tease them. Her mother had said enough about her own personal life.
Luther winked at her but didn’t reply. Bianca rolled up her window and pulled forward. She listened to the music blaring through the speakers, along with the gurgle of the draining system. Pressing the accelerator, she followed the guidance of the attendant, careful not to bump into the car ahead of her.
When he held his hand up, Bianca stopped. Waving to a few of the workers, she put the car in park. Grabbing her phone, she checked her emails as they washed her car.
“No!”
Bianca’s head shot up to spot Judy once again yelling at another attendant. The way Judy’s hands flung up in the air, Bianca’s pulse quickened. She’d never seen Judy this upset before. Not over a car wash. Judy rarely lashed out at customers who complained to her at the bakery and restaurant.
Were she and Richard going through that much? Was that why he asked for an extension on their payment? Even when she’d talked to her a couple of days before, Judy hadn’t seemed too out of sorts. What were the reasons for her outbursts?
Bianca watched despite the streaks of soap on her window. Judy, now on the phone, paced back and forth in a circle. The attendant drying her car shook his head, but he didn’t respond to her.
Then her eyes shifted to see Luther walk over. Judy placed the phone to her chest as she talked to him. If Bianca knew Luther, he could manage the situation without it escalating any further.
Bianca tapped her thumb to her screen as she watched the interaction unfold. “I wonder what that’s all about.”
The suds on her car cascaded down as the water rinsed her car clean. Not much longer. Would she have a chance to talk to Judy before she left? Bianca thought hard about her conversation with Richard. What had sounded unusual? Biting her lower lip, she pondered.
The missing butcher knife was one clue, but Richard had been in the kitchen during the wedding. He’d even frequented the reception by walking around and greeting the guests, asking if they enjoyed their meals. When would he have had time to kill Martin?
There was the stargazing party. He hadn’t wanted Martin there, and the Davises had left. Then the rehearsal dinner. The men had yelled at each other, gaining attention of all the guests. Bianca rubbed at her forehead.
Her eyes focused back on Judy. She appeared calmer. Luther even opened the door for her and she slid into the driver’s seat of her car. Bianca didn’t take her eyes off the exchange. Judy touched a hand to her chest. Her face had dropped. Was she apologizing for her outbursts?
When she extended her hand, Luther took it with a smile. Bianca breathed easier seeing Judy calmed down, but what had set her off in the first place? A knock to her window made her shriek. Bianca stared outside. The attendant gave her a thumbs up and motioned for her to pull forward.
Bianca smiled and mouthed, “Thank you.” Putting her car in drive, she pulled ahead.
***
Bianca, Alyssa, and Melanie pulled into the driveway of her mother’s Cape Cod home. Dark green shutters, symmetrical shingles with a central door, multi-paned, and double-hung windows. Familiarity washed over Bianca, recalling the new memories that’d been made since her mother moved to Edenville, Texas, from Atlanta, Georgia, as a fresh start after her husband’s death. Family dinners were usually on Sundays, but whenever Deborah Wallace cooked a grand meal, she invited her family over. Even on a Thursday evening.
“I wonder what Mom cooked tonight.” Melanie unclicked her seatbelt.
“Enough for the whole neighborhood,” Bianca said.
Mel bit her bottom lip. “I can’t wait to dig in.”
Bianca shook her head and cut the engine. Looking in the rearview mirror, Alyssa still had her phone in her hand. Was it the Kendrick boy who had her attention? “Alyssa, we’re here.”
How her daughter unclicked her seatbelt, stepped out the car with Casper in her free hand, and walked to her grandmother’s front door without looking up, Bianca didn’t know. Had she been the same as a teenager?
Bianca followed her along with her sister, and found her mother in her favorite place, the kitchen. The woman loved to cook, even to where she would donate homemade meals to the homeless shelter in town.
Bianca’s eyes bugged at sight of chicken-fried steaks, mashed potatoes, and her mother’s special green beans. “Mom, it’s only us.” She stared at the cooked food once more. “Why all this?
Her mother waved away her comment. “In case some neighbors stop by.”
Bianca raised an eyebrow. “Like… Mr. Luther?”
Her mother didn’t respond. She only turned her back. “Do you think this cake needs icing?”
Bianca looped her arm through her mother’s. “Are you avoiding my question?”
“I think it needs frosting.”
“Mom?”
Her mother eyeballed her. “He is a friend of mine.”
“Just a friend?”
Her mother cleared her throat. “Enough about me, what about you?”
Bianca groaned. “Here we go.”
“All this talk about my personal life, what about you?”
“I have Casper. Thanks to you.”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious? A pet can only do so much. At least your sister is dating.”
Bianca walked to the kitchen island and rested her elbows on the butcher block countertop. “Mom, you’re meddling again. I’m not Melanie. I’ll get there when I want to. I’m just now getting to a point where I can say Malcolm’s name without hating him.”
Her mother pursed her lips. “Then you need to pray for me. I still can’t believe he doesn’t see Alyssa like he should.”
Could her daughter hear this conversation? She was in the living room with Melanie playing with Casper, including her mother’s dogs. Bianca shrugged. “I can’t, either. He calls but his architect job keeps him pretty busy.”
“What about that new detective? No, I’m not being nosy.”
Bianca straightened, as if her mother had shocked her with a bolt of electricity. “What?”
“He’s handsome. And those gray eyes… are very intriguing.”
“I don’t think so. Besides, I have—”
“Alyssa to think about.” Her mother finished her sentence. “Alyssa will leave the house soon. You’re a wonderful mother, but I don’t want you to forget about you.”
“What if I want nothing right now?”
Her mother winked at her. “I think you’ll change your mind.”
“Because of Lamar?”
Her mother touched a hand to her chest. “You know his first name?”
“I met him… before the murder.”
Her mother wiped her hands with the dishtow
el. “I still can’t believe we have a killer in this town. We know Edenville for its friendliness.”
“Among other things.” Bianca tapped a finger to her chin. She couldn’t get past Richard’s words. What had Martin had to blackmail Nicole with? And why would he have cared to?
“Is the food ready?” Melanie asked. Jasper, her mother’s Yorkie, trotted in behind her. His paws padded the hardwood kitchen floors.
“In a minute.” Her mother smiled at her sister.
Melanie hugged her mother. “Smells good as always.”
Her mother pointed to her. “You didn’t give me the details of your trip. Nothing happened out there, did it?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
Alyssa followed into the kitchen, setting Casper down to the floor. Bianca’s mother’s other Yorkie, Jasper, barked. Why her mother had named her pets after the villainous characters in 101 Dalmatians, she’d never know. Thank goodness they’d gotten used to Casper being with them the last few days. Bianca didn’t waste time extending her hand to Alyssa. Her teen daughter’s mouth dropped.
“You know the rules,” she said.
“Mom, not tonight. Please? I promise I’ll put it on silent.”
“No phones during dinner.”
Her teen groaned but handed her mother her phone. “Not fair.”
Bianca set her phone along with her daughter’s inside the small wicker basket on the table. Her mother’s rules were no phones during dinner. Her mother wanted them to be present with the family, and though teenage Bianca had wanted to talk to her friends, her mother insisted her phone stay in the wicker basket. Teenager. Time had flown since 2005. Now at thirty-four, Bianca had carried the tradition to her own daughter.
Melanie held up her phone. “If there’s a story and I miss it, you owe me.” She set it inside the basket.
Bianca shook her head. Jordan’s name flashed on her screen. She licked her lips. “Mom, I may need to take this?” She couldn’t explain the tenseness in her stomach.
“No phones, Bianca,” her mother said.
“But this has to do with murder,” Melanie said. She then covered her mouth as if realizing her mistake.
Bianca’s chest heaved.
“It’s all over school,” Alyssa said.
“To think there’s a serial killer in a small town like this,” Melanie said.
“Mel?” Bianca raised her eyebrows. “There’s no serial killer.” Buzz. Buzz. Bianca saw the screen on her phone light up in the basket. “Mom…”
“Bianca?” Her mother cocked her head to the side.
Bianca held up her two fingers. “Two minutes. I promise I’ll be back.” She hurried to the living room and answered the phone. It had to have been important, since Jordan had called a second time. “What’s up?”
“Have you talked to the police?” Why did he sound worried?
“Jordan, what’s wrong?”
“Tell me what you told the police.” He sounded earnest. What did he know?
“Only what I saw. Martin didn’t come back for a while and then we found his body inside the limousine.”
“How’s Nicole? Is she okay?”
“She’s okay. The police only brought her in for questioning, but…”
“But what?” he asked.
“I found her bracelet near some blood at the scene. So far, they have made no arrests.”
Silence. Was he processing what she was telling him? His disbelieving tone couldn’t be denied. “That’s impossible. I found her bracelet. I told the police that in my statement.”
“You did?” Then what happened?
“Yeah. I went to find Nicole to give it to her before the wedding started. Priscilla was with her in the back room. I sat it on the table and wished Nicole good luck with Chad,” Jordan said.
Did someone steal it? If Priscilla was there would she know? “Then how—”
“They can’t do this.”
“They? Jordan, what do you mean?”
“I don’t know.” He exhaled. “Who’s doing this? They want to ruin her. I know it.”
“Why? What do you know, Jordan?”
“Remember when you lost touch with Nicole for a while?”
Bianca sat on the arm of her mother’s leather couch. “Yes?”
He sighed. “I don’t know how she got mixed up with Martin, but he helped her out. I didn’t understand, but she said they understood each other. She didn’t know he was married. Priscilla didn’t find out until later, but by the time Nicole realized she was seeing a married man, she called things off.”
“What? Why didn’t she tell me that?”
“Who wants people to know that? Not in Edenville.” Was Jordan pacing? What was the rustling in the background?
“What are you doing, Jordan?”
“I can’t let this happen.”
“Who do you think is doing this? Is it only to get back at Nicole? For seeing Martin?”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Priscilla did it.”
Bianca was taken aback. “I think that’s farfetched, Jordan. Do you know how sensitive she is? Her heart trouble. She has her moments, but I don’t think she’s a killer. I doubt she has that in her.”
“Then I don’t know who else.”
“What about Richard? The step-brother? One of his butcher knives is missing.”
Jordan’s breath hitched. “Butcher knife? So it’s true what I read it in the paper?”
“Yes.” Bianca read the most recent story on the Edenville Gazette paper’s website.
“This just keeps getting worse,” Jordan said. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Be safe.” Bianca hung up, only to hear the doorbell ring. When she opened it, she blinked, spotting Mr. Luther Burkes. Not in his usual jumper, but in dress slacks and a dark blue collared dress shirt. He trimmed his beard and his smile grew.
His whiskey eyes gleamed. He held a pitcher of tea in his hands. “Hello, Bianca. Your mother invited me.”
“Come in, Mr. Burkes.” She stepped to the side and let him inside. Jasper and Horas trotted in the room. Casper followed, joining in their barks. Mr. Burkes smiled, but he picked up one foot as they ran around him. The pitcher in his hand shifted. Casper barked louder, standing on his hind legs. Jasper and Horas joined in the apparent fun, and Mr. Burkes tried to keep his grip, but the iced tea only spilled over. Splash!
Bianca gasped. The cold liquid drenched her shirt as she tried to help him. She inhaled and stared at her dog. Her mother chuckled along with her daughter. Melanie held back a snicker. When did they walk into the living room?
“You okay, Mom?” Alyssa asked, but her grin gave her away.
“Uh huh.” She fingered at her soaked collar.
“Hello, Luther,” her mother said. Then she looked at Bianca. “I have a shirt you can change into.”
Bianca bobbed her head. She only blew through her cheeks as she made her way down the hall to her mother’s bedroom. What were the joys of having a pet again?
Chapter 10
Sweat dripped down Bianca’s neck as she squatted. Almost a week since Martin’s murder. Trying to get back to somewhat normal routine, Bianca headed to the gym. Four times a week was her workout habit, and while she preferred exercising in the morning, coming in the early evening had become a habit as she’d switched up her regiment. Bianca hated cardio workouts—with a passion—but they did wonders for her health.
“Wow, these are killer.” She gritted her teeth. Ten more seconds left on her timer. “One more.” Standing straight, her leg muscles shook from the exertion. Bending over, she rubbed at her thighs. She took a needed break. Grabbing her water bottle, she gulped it, grateful for cold water rushing down her parched throat.
Exhaling, Bianca wiped her sweaty forehead. One hour sufficed for her workout. Time to head home. She gathered her towel and yoga mat, preparing to leave. Her phone rang. Noticing Alyssa’s name on the screen, she answered.
“Yes,
honey?”
“Are you on your way home yet?” Alyssa asked.
“In a few minutes. Why?” Bianca stuffed her towel inside her gym bag.
“Well… do you think I can order some takeout?”
“What do you have a taste for?” Bianca blocked out the music and sounds coming from TV sets. She passed the treadmills, stationary bikes, stair climbers, and elliptical machines. Then she headed out the building and to her car in the parking lot.
“Italian again?”
“Let’s go for Mexican this time. You’ll find the menus in the kitchen.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mom.” Alyssa hung up.
Bianca smiled to herself as she approached her car.
“Looking good.”
A tenor voice startled her. She pivoted, spotting a man standing a few feet away from her. Broad chest, tattooed arms, and a bald head. A gym bag hung from his own arm. The way he licked his lips and his eyes traveled down her body, Bianca’s fight or flight kicked in. She needed to get home—now.
Bianca responded. “Thank you. Have a good night.”
“Why the rush?” he asked.
Wasn’t there enough going on in Edenville? Possible stalker too? The last thing she wanted. Bianca didn’t answer. Her mouth went dry.
“So that’s it? Not even a—”
“I think the lady would like to be left alone.”
Bianca knew that voice. She turned around to see Detective Sims in his athletic gear, standing between her and the man. His strong arms caught her attention in his sleeveless t-shirt, as she noticed his defined triceps. Her mouth flooded with moisture and she swallowed. This wasn’t the time especially if things escalated between Detective Sims and this man. They wouldn’t fight would they?
“What’s it to you?” the man snarled.
“Go home now, or do you want to go to jail for assault?”
“What are you? A cop?” the man asked as he stepped closer to Detective Sims.
Bianca didn’t say a word. She only watched the exchange.
Detective Sims gave a mirthless laugh. “Exactly.”
A tsk sound escaped the man’s lips. “Man, whatever.” He stalked off to his car.